The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) with the support of UN Women have discussed and prepared for Viet Nam's review report on the 25-year implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA), one of the world's most comprehensive documents on women's rights and the empowerment of women.

In 2020, the global community will mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and adoption of BPfA, and five years of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

In Vietnam, 2020 will be the final year of the implementation of its first National Strategy on Gender Equality and the government will develop a new generation of gender equality strategic efforts for the period of 2021-2030.

In recent years, Vietnam has shown its commitment in the implementation of BPfA through integrating gender issues in developing and implementing laws, policies and programmes on gender equality and gender-based violence. Vietnam launched communications activities on gender equality and women's empowerment in society which helped improve the role and the status of Vietnamese women.

Ms Nguyen Thi Ha, Deputy Minister of MOLISA at the event

Take an example of women in politics in Vietnam. The proportion of women participating in the National Assembly is now 27 per cent, which is higher than the regional and global average. According to international reports, to date, 31 per cent of Vietnamese entrepreneurs in Vietnam are women.

Furthermore, in the workplace, the rate of job creation for women is consistently over 48 per cent in the last five years. However, there are still obstacles and challenges to face in implementing the BPfA. Gender inequality continues to undermine the human rights of women and girls. Cases of violence and sexual assault against women and girls still occur and are not always brought to justice, which creates more discontent in society.

Ms Nguyen Thi Ha, Deputy Minister of MOLISA suggested that experts, members of the drafting team and participants attending the workshop should focus on discussion of results, problems and difficulties in the process of implementing the 12 areas of BPfA, in relation to data review and analysis. Following this, attention should be paid to communications solutions aiming at raising awareness and changing behaviors toward gender equality.

This will add to strategic, comprehensive and specific solutions in key areas such as education and training, health, poverty alleviation, job creation, and women's living standards improvement. Moreover, discussions on solutions to prevent violence against women and girls and the practice of women's human rights should be considered as priority.

"UN Women believes that the process of assessing the 25-year implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action brings a great opportunity for Vietnam to rejuvenate its commitment and action for gender equality and women's empowerment," said Elisa Fernandez, UN Women Representative in Vietnam at the conference.

"This review process should mobilize people of all ages, genders and different circumstances, to ensure that the different voices and needs are listened to," she added.

With the participation of experts from the government's drafting team of the BPfA review report, civil society organizations, the entities of the United Nations system and regional and international organizations, academia, the media and other stakeholders, the technical meeting aimed to strengthen the capacity of the government's drafting team and relevant stakeholders to have better understanding of BPfA framework and the guidance note for BPfA review.

The meeting will also serve to promote more regular dialogues between the Government, CSOs and gender advocates, so that different voices, views and knowledge are shared and considered in this process./.